Amtrak officially rolls out writers' residency

By Frances Cha, CNN

Updated 5:29 AM ET, Wed March 12, 2014

Amtrak offers free rides to writers6 photos

Amtrak residency – That minor earthquake you just felt was the rumble of several million freelancers scrambling for their computers. Amtrak is launching an official residency program for writers on its long-distance routes. The best part? It's free!

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Amtrak offers free rides to writers6 photos

Ever-distracting but inspiring landscapes – The California Zephyr plies one of the most beautiful train routes in North America. Climbing through the heart of the Rockies and the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas may ennoble the stout of word, but the outstanding views might distract less disciplined writers.

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Amtrak offers free rides to writers6 photos

Lull of the rails – The rhythm of the rails is intoxicating, indeed, but beware, loquacious scribblers -- it also induces a state of somnambulant torpor from which even the combined forces of Webster, Roget, Strunk and White may not rescue you.

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Outlines of drafts and plains – While on the California Zephyr, crossing through the plains of Nebraska to Denver gives writers ample time to begin thinking about what a rough outline might eventually look like.

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All a writer needs – Up to 24 writers will be chosen for residencies, which will only take place on undersold long-distance routes. Each residency will include accommodation on a sleeper car with all a writer really needs: a bed, a desk and outlets.

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Rekindling train nostalgia – News of the program has re-kindled nostalgia for train travel among people who might not have previously considered a trip by train, says Julia Quinn, Amtrak's director of social media.

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Story highlights

Writers can now apply to an Amtrak writer residency, heading through their most scenic routes

Each residency will include accommodation on a sleeper car with a bed, a desk and outlets

Residencies will take place over two-to-five days on 15 long distance routes, and will be free

Tweet it and it may come true.

In the world of travel, anyway.

Sending under-appreciated scribes into a frenzy of ecstasy across the United States, Amtrak is launching an official residency program for writers on its long-distance routes.

The best part?

It's free.

That minor earthquake you just felt was the rumble of several million freelancers scrambling for their computers.

Writers are now able to submit applications to drop everything in their lives to focus on their writing while getting gratis rides on Amtrak's most scenic routes.

"It's been an overwhelming reception, I don't think we could ever have anticipated how quickly so many people would respond to the idea of the program, and how liberally they're endorsing it," says Julia Quinn, Amtrak's director of social media.

But for Amtrak, what's the upside of having writers clamoring for free rides?

Quinn says the reaction within the company "is only positive" and that news of the program has re-kindled nostalgia for train travel among people who might not have previously considered a trip by train.

"Now we have people saying that they are doing or want to do their own versions of the Amtrak residency," she says.

Up to 24 writers will be chosen for residencies, which will only take place on undersold long-distance routes.

Each residency will include accommodation on a sleeper car with all a writer really needs: a bed, a desk and outlets.

Applications will be judged on a year-round basis by a panel of Amtrak executives and outside writers.

Because travelers tend to book longer routes earlier, it's easier for Amtrak to predict which routes will have the vacancies they can grant to resident writers, says Quinn.

Residents won't be obliged to write about or mention Amtrak in their work, nor will they be expected to turn in any writing to the company after their trips.

Quinn says Amtrak has concluded that the organic social-media buzz created by the residency program provides enough of a return on investment.

All residencies will take place over two-to-five days on 15 long-distance routes, and will be free.

Creating a personalized #AmtrakResidency

As Amtrak was formalizing its residency application process, Quinn shared a few of the company's picks for best routes for writers to get cracking on the next great American novel.

"Someone writing about food could do the long-distance trip from Chicago to Memphis, via New Orleans, doing a huge foodie tour with a lot of little stops, for example," says Quinn.

Brilliant suggestion.

Here are three more writing-trips suggested by Amtrak and fleshed out by wistful editors stuck in offices.

Empire Builder (Chicago to Portland/Seattle)

From the train writers can ponder the Mississippi River and imagine sharing the same writing space as Midwest bard Garrison Keillor as they chug past the glowing night skyline of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The next morning, the stark North Dakota plains and Big Sky country in Montana provide an atmosphere suited to contemplative procrastination.

From Spokane, Washington, writers can pick their bohemian finale by continuing to Seattle or head down the Columbia River Gorge to Portland, Oregon.

In either end point, they'll be in their element, surrounded by freelance writers highly motivated for freebies.

California Zephyr (Chicago to Emeryville/San Francisco)

The California Zephyr plies one of the most beautiful train routes in North America.

Crossing through the plains of Nebraska to Denver gives writers ample time to begin thinking about what a rough outline might eventually look like.

Climbing through the heart of the Rockies, and then the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas, may ennoble the stout of word, but the outstanding views might distract less self-disciplined writers.

The rhythm of the rails is intoxicating, indeed, but beware, loquacious scribblers, for it also induces a state of somnambulant torpor from which even the combined forces of Webster, Roget, Strunk and White may not rescue you.